Napoleon Dynamite

If I could give this movie something less than "1" I would. After hearing about it at work and not getting any of the supposed inside jokes that were flying around, I decided to see this movie. What followed was fifteen minutes of sitting there, amazed that I had wasted so much of my precious young life. The characters are barely 2-dimensional, boring, whiny, and lacking in any sort of an ironic undertone that would normally make this kind of movie funny, or at least watchable. The events are simply not funny, and not connected with any sort of either empathy with the main character or hatred for him; Just... nothingness. Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

I "get" and enjoy offbeat humor, Wes Anderson's stuff, etc. How anyone could make a case for this movie being an example of that is far beyond my comprehension. I found this movie to be the worst I've ever seen, higher, actually, than Gigli, and I "get" the jokes, but I just thought they were terrible. I have a great sense of humor, and while I wasn't a "nerd" in high school, I can appreciate most humor. This wasn't funny. This was pointless. This was the cinematic equivalent of excrement. There is not a chance in hell that I will ever watch this again, in fact, I hope to never speak of it again. I just feel that as a public servant, I need to tell you how absolutely horrendous Napoleon Dynamite is.

While I'm sure many are genuinely interested in and love the film, it's just not that great. I think one of the main reasons for the hype is the over-exaggerated emphasis on nonconformity among teens in the US. Since it's an indie, and it's completely different than all the other films and breaks away from all those "GOD-AWFUL" typical films, it has to be great, right? Wrong. Quote from IMDb user who loved the film: "This movie explores the very essence of boredom and mediocrity as you follow the daily life of a dorky guy doing uninteresting things in a small, unexciting town. Napolean's constant, open-mouth, blank stare says, "I'm only tolerating this monotonous existence because I've got nothing better to do."" That sums the film up quite well; however, after saying that, one wonders why someone would still watch the film. Shite. People think that anything 'different' must be awesome, but my goal in life isn't to pay to see some guy 'doing uninteresting things' throughout his 'monotonous existence' because '{he's} got nothing better to do.] I can bore myself to death without any help, thank you!

I watched this movie with high expectations, everyone i know has said that this movie was a classic comedy such as "Zoolander" and most movies featuring the "Frat Pack". So i borrowed it from a friend and prepared myself for a great comedy, i was seriously disappointed. The movie was slow, boring, and the parts that were supposed to be funny were clearly not. Line such as "Gosh" and "Freakin Idiot" which most people found utterly hilarious only made me raise my eyebrows and shake my head. It wasn't witty or well written, but it wasn't slapstick either, in fact it is the poorest excuse for a comedy i've ever seen. Things such as "Vote for Pedro" which everyone seems to have on their shirts these days were just not funny at all, in fact everything about Pedro was just lame. It seems that the movie is set around the eighties or early nineties because of the terrible fashion sense and music used. But uncle Ricco is always going on about the eighties hinting that it is set more towards modern times, how does that explain the retro fashion used be EVERYONE! I can't see how so many people love this movie and how it comes so highly recommend but it does so i guess it really is a matter of opinion, but still come on this was just bad, if you want to see a decent movie try looking in the COMEDY section.

After reading rave reviews on this site, I expected "Napoleon Dynamite" to be a side-splittingly funny movie about social misfits and teen alienation. What I found instead was a sporadically mildly amusing film with too many forced moments that don't add up to much. Writers Jared Hess (who also directed) and Jerusha Hess obviously found inspiration in the films of Todd Solondz and Wes Anderson. But here's the difference between their films and the Hesses' work - Anderson and Solondz are better storytellers and, more often than not, create unique characters, original moments and funny dialogue. The Hesses strain too much to be quirky and nothing much works in their film. The film occasionally elicits a few smiles rather than constant laughs. No one laughed during the screening I attended. The problem is the characters' eccentricities all seem like affectations; nothing seems original or natural. It's as if the Hesses are saying their characters are funny simply because they're quirky. Rural Idahoans couldn't possibly be this uninteresting. I love droll, deadpan stuff. But there needs to be something funny, some wit that comes along with that. And the characters need to be interesting. Simply making someone an oddball doesn't necessarily make him funny. Honestly, there's no one in this film we haven't seen in one form or another in countless other (funnier) high school films. Jon Heder's titular character turns rather unbearable as the film wears on. It's not Heder's fault he's given a dreadfully one-dimensional person to play. Asking him to speak intolerably mundane lines in a dreary monotone doesn't make him funnier. Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) quickly grows tiresome as he keeps repeating the same shtick. It wasn't all that amusing to begin with and loses any appeal within minutes. Even Kip's (Aaron Ruell) metamorphosis, which should be funny, isn't explored with any clever comedic skill. "Napoleon Dynamite" has an occasional chuckle or two - Kip rollerblading and Uncle Rico's online purchase. But the laughs are infrequent. However, it's refreshing to see a high school comedy not relying on bodily functions for jokes. If you want to see a truly funny film about social misfits, rent last year's "American Splendor." And for quintessential droll wit, watch the Ealing comedies, "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and Alexander Mackendrick's "The Ladykillers." "Napoleon Dynamite" joins "Connie and Carla," "Along Came Polly" and the Coens' "The Ladykillers" as one of the dumbest and least funniest comedies of the year.

I am an old man--at least when it comes to watching NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I realize that the audience for this film is NOT middle-aged, but even in my mid-40s I still enjoy the film. It's funny, actually, because a while back I was sitting in the teacher's lounge and somehow this movie became a topic. Teacher after teacher said how they hated the film and just didn't understand it--during which time, the guitar teacher and myself were laughing hysterically as we recounted our favorite scenes. This day, the other teachers' opinions of the two of us probably dropped considerably! Later, I asked the kids what they thought of this, and while the percentage who liked it was much higher, once again there seemed to be no middle ground. Those who liked the film, loved the film and everyone else seemed to hate it. This seems to indicate that the film probably is one of the more polarizing I have seen and I think this is due to the very, very low-key style of the film. Most who hated it described it as "boring" or a "one-joke film"; those who loved it, loved the joke and didn't mind that all the major characters in the film were so low-energy and bizarre. While I could easily recount the film or discuss moments I like, there have been so many reviews of the film already that I wouldn't be adding anything. 'Nuff said that it's a film you'll probably either love or hate NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.

My two teenage sons liked this film enough that the talked me into seeing it. What a colossal waste of my time! Bad acting. Bad writing. Bad direction. Not clever. Not funny. Not interesting. Not a single character that you care about. Stupid grandmother. Stupid uncle. Stupid brother. Almost stupid girlfriend. Stupid cheerleader. Stupid cheerleader's boyfriend. Stupid brother's girlfriend. Really stupid central character. I don't understand the chickens. I don't understand the Tupperware. I don't understand the bust enhancer. I don't understand the camera. If these people are representative of the residents of Idaho, that state should not be allowed to vote in national elections. This replaced "Glen and Randa" as the all time worst movie I have ever seen.

This is the epitome of quotable movies. It's random absurdity on a level only matched by the genius of Monty Python. What is it about? Honestly, nothing. Are there any morals to be learned? Not really. Is it relatable? Most likely, not in the slightest. But damn if it isn't one of the most hysterical, comedic masterpieces of all time. This is what movies are all about, it's about something that brings people together. And when you get a Napoleon Dynamite fan, and introduce them to another fan, what you'll get is a back-and-forth barrage of quotes and laughs and bonding that could last for hours. I personally have made a trek to Preston, Idaho where this movie was filmed, and visited all the locations in the film, including the park and the very spot where LaFawnduh played footsie with Kip. And even the locals get in on it. The way my group was dressed, there was no doubt we were fans of the movie, and we even had a local driving by and stop to give us a map of the filming locations. Many people honked at us. And we even visited the very Deseret Industries thrift store in which Napoleon famously bought his groovy mix tape and sai, and I kid you not, we found a plastic toy sai for sale. Naturally we bought it and I sheathed it in my belt loop. We are still in awe that it was even there to begin with, and we have a theory that they have a bag full of toy sais in the back, in order to keep at least one in stock on the shelves, for obvious reasons if you've seen the movie. But all that is to show the affect this movie has on people. It has developed a massive cult following for a good reason. It's absolutely brilliant. Every scene generates genuine laughter. Every scene contains at least one classic quote that everybody uses when interacting in society. Every. Single. Scene. Is. GOLD. Except maybe the creepy scene with Uncle Rico in the photo shop. Other than that awkwardness, every scene is a comedic gold mine, and that is NO hyperbole. This is a movie to be passionate about. And if you didn't get it, if you hated it, it's ok. It's not for everybody, for sure. Don't feel bad, don't feel like you're missing out. But if you haven't yet seen it, you are obligated now to find out which side of the severely polarized audience of the film you are on: Are you on the side that thought it was the stupidest thing you've ever watched, or are you voting for Pedro and part of the nunchuck-wielding fans who can quote practically the whole movie? Regardless if you enjoyed it or not, unless you are in complete denial, you would have to admit the influence it had on society when it came out, and the power it still holds. Haters gonna hate, lovers gonna love.

I saw this movie in theaters when it first came out and was quite curious because of the hype surrounding it at the time. When I walked out, all I could hear myself saying in my mind was "What the hell just happened?" and felt like going back to the box office and asking for my 10 bucks back. Reader, I positively *hated* it - I didn't "get" the humour and I thought all the people in this movie were just plain weird - like somehow this movie was "trying" too hard to be funny yet the humour was falling flat. Also the style of most of the folks had me wondering if this movie was in the 80's or something or if the film makers were torn between setting this movie up in the 80's or 90's or maybe if the film makers were making some sort of statement on mid-westerners being 10 years behind us east and west coasters - I mean the weird T-shirts, Naploleon's hair and attire, the break-dancing music, Deb wearing stir-up pants, the ponytail on one side, 80's music like Cyndi Lauper and poofy prom dresses. The only thing that gave it away that this film takes place more recently were the references to the Internet for Uncle Rico's time machine, the heavy techno-dance music that Pedro's cousin play in their muscle mobile and Kip's online romance with Lafawnduh as well as Napoleon's dance sequence to Jamiroquoi's "Canned Heat" at the very end (which BTW, seemed to be inspired by the "Solid Gold" dancers of the 70's and 80's). Then something strange happened. The film cable channels here started playing it frequently and I'd catch bits and pieces of it here and there and found myself enjoying the humour more and more. I was finally getting it and enjoying it - I was even starting the know certain parts of it by heart. My brother went out and bought the DVD of the film and now I can safely say, I really love this little film. After being absorbed in Napoleon's universe, you realize he's actually a really good kid and just trying to find his place in the grand scheme of things despite being misunderstood at school and at home. You end up *wanting* Napoleon to succeed and be happy and I think we can safely assume he does. In some ways, this film is like Napoleon, it's the small-budget film that could and I'm glad to see the cult following this film has developed. It deserves all it gets. To those of you who hated this film after watching it once, all I can say is I'd encourage you to watch it once more and give it a chance. I'm sure glad I did.

This film is a refreshing look at a typical geek in a forgotten part of the country. Jared Hess is to be commended by bringing this dead pan comedy to the screen. Of course, the director is helped by the cast he assembled for the film. The screening I attended had more laughs than I was expecting because, as it is obvious: this is not a comedy for the masses. The director is spoofing the genre in his own way. Napoleon, deep down inside is a great kid. He is not malicious and he has to suffer because this culture will reward a stupid person that appears to be cool and will put down a person such as Napoleon because they perceive him as a nerd prototype. Napoleon belongs to a dysfunctional family, if ever there was one. His brother Kid is playing against type also. He appears to be a feminine boy who is into the chat rooms and has fallen in love with a mystery woman from Detroit. The uncle that comes to supervise them while their grandma is in the hospital is a grease ball and a con man rolled into one. The ending is just hysterical as Uncle Rico can't see the woman he is selling his bogus merchandise is a muscled person with a super strong husband. All the actors are excellent in their roles. One's heart goes to Jon Heder, the Napoleon of the story, for making his character so sweet and likable. Jon Gries, as Uncle Rico, is effective. Napoleon's brother played by Aaaron Ruell goes through such transformation, but deep inside he is just a pretender. Efren Ramirez, as Pedro seems to be in a fog throughout the film. What a joke to have him as class president! Finally, Shondrella Avery as LaFawnduh, gives an incredible performance and Tina Marjorino is perfect as Deb. A film to be discovered for its humor.